Flexible power transmission coupling



Oct. 13, 1953 CANDEE 2,655,013

FLEXIBLE POWER TRANSMISSION COUPLING Original Filed June 26, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m gm INVENTOR :35: P2 CHNUEE Oct. 13, 1953 2. P. CANDEE FLEXIBLE POWER TRANS/MISSION COUPLING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 26, 1947 R O N E V m ATTORN EY Patented Oct. 13, 1953 FLEXIBLE POWER TRANSMISSION COUPLING Zenas P. Candee, Watertown, Conn., assignor to The Waterbury Farrel Foundry & Machine Company, Inc., Waterbury,

tion of Connecticut Conn., a. corpora- Original application June 26, 1947, Serial No.

757,227. Divided and this application December 6, 1950, Serial No. 199,472

1 Claim.

This invention relates to clutches, and more particularly to a positively-operated jaw clutch for quickly starting a power press.

One object of the present invention is to provide a positive clutch of the above nature having a floating driving jaw of limited flexibility to absorb the shock of starting the driven jaw and which will be self-aligning to compensate for minor inaccuracies in the machining of said jaws.

A further object is to provide a power press clutch of the above nature in which a floating jaw plate is secured to a plurality of self-centering spring plugs located within the hub of a driving member such as a fly wheel so that said driving plate will be resiliently restricted to permit a limited lateral or axial motion with respect to said driving member.

A further object is to provide a machine of the above nature, which will be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very eiiicient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

The present application constitutes a division of my prior eopending application, Serial Number 757,227 entitled Positive Jaw Clutch for Power Presses, filed June 26, 1947, patented July 10. 1951, No. 2,559,709.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of a power press upon which the improved positive jaw clutch has been installed.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, on a larger scale, of a portion of the fly wheel, clutch, and brake mechanisms, taken along the axis of the fly wheel shaft--with the press shown in stopped position.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same, taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The main feature of the present invention is the mechanism for resiliently holding the driving jaw resiliently attached to the fly wheel, comprising a series of still spring dowel pins, which are driven tightly into the fly wheel for part of their length, said fly wheel having clearance holes to permit the other ends of said pins to absorb the shocks from the clutch when the jaws come into engagement.

The driving jaw thus has a slight lateral or axial floating action, so that even if there is 2 some slight inaccuracy of the machining of the jaws, the clutch will be self-centering when the jaws are pressed together.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral ||l indicates a continuously-driven shaft of a punch press P having a belt-driven fly wheel II at one end thereof, said shaft l0 having an enlarged section Illa.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the fly wheel II is provided with a hub l5 mounted on anti-friction bearings |2 which are held in operating position by means of an end cap I 3, and provided with a cover plate l4.

Located within the hub l5 are a plurality of stepped spring plugs or dowel pins 5 (four in this instance), which are driven tightly into cylindrical holes [1, passing through said hub, and which pins have reduced resilient sections IE to provide a clearance at the inner ends of the holes l1.

The dowel pins l6 are also provided with reduced rounded ends l9, which are adapted to fit tightly within corresponding cylindrical apertures |9a in a floating ring-shaped driving jaw 2|] of the clutch, which jaw 20 is adapted to be engaged by a similarly-shaped sliding driven jaw 2| whenever the press is in operation. The sliding driven jaw 2| is held non-rotatively on the enlarged section Illa of the shaft H) by four keys 22 (see Fig. 3).

The sliding driven jaw 2| is normally pressed toward the driving jaw 20 by means of a plurality of horizontal coil springs 2 la.

Provision is also made of a rotative ring-shaped yoke 23 pivoted at one end upon a pin 24 carried by an internal brake drum 26 secured to the en larged section Illa of the shaft Ill and embraced by a brake band 2'|said yoke having a roundedged roller 25 diametrically opposite the pivot pin 24 and being engageable by a vertical tri slide 28 for operating the clutch.

The trip slide 28 is normally held in its lowermost position by means of a horizontal catch plunger 29 mounted in a cross hole 34 in said slide. The plunger 29 has a vertical hole 29a therein, for a purpose to be described later, and also has a reduced outer end 30 embraced by a coiled spring 3| which engages a washer 32 held in place on said catch plunger 29 by a cotter pin 33.

The trip slide 23 is also provided with a vertical bore 35 intersecting the horizontal cross hole 34, and within which is a vertical tri bolt 36 3 having a reduced intermediate section 31 and a cylindrical top head 38 which is located in the upper part of the vertical bore 35.

Provision isalso made of a vertical coiled spring '39' embracing the lower end of the trip bolt 36 and pressing upwardly against a collar 39a of said bolt 36 located below the reduced section 31 thereof.

In order to operate the clutch, provision is made of a short lever link 44 connected to the lower end of the trip bolt-V3.6 by means of a pin 45a, said link 44 being attached at its outer end to a depending rod 45, which is connected to a hand lever 46 mounted on the body of the press P.

The brake band 21 is adapted to be adjusted by means of a screw and held in adjustment by means of a pair of nuts 52, 56 (see Fig. 3).

The driving jaw 20 is held loosely against a shoulder 59 on the shaft at the end of the enlarged section Illa thereof (see Fig. 2).

Continuous operation With the press set for continuous operation. when the operator presses down on the hand lever 46, the rod 45 will be depressed, pulling down the central trip bolt 36 which rests on the ledge on the top of the cross catch plunger 29. and consequently the trip slide 26 will also be pulled down.

At the same time that the trip slide 28 moves upwardly, the brake band 21 will be tightened about the brake drum 26 by the toggle action of the link 58a and the lever 54, the friction thus produced normally being sufficient to stop the machine.

One advantage of this invention resides in the novel construction of the driving jaw mechanism whereby minor inaccuracies in machining of the clutch jaws or other parts will be rendered harmless during operation of the press.

Another advantage is that the novel resilient coupling improves the accuracy of the feed by avoiding the high degree of shock which would otherwise occur when the clutch jaws are encaged.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may .be embodied. it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and

that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claim.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

In a power press, a horizontal continuously driven shaft, a flywheel having a hub embracing said shaft, 9. pair of anti-friction bearings and a spacer sleeve mounted between said shaft and the interior or said hub, a flexible coupling for yieldably joining said flywheel to the driven clutch jaw of a power press, said coupling comprising a plurality or elongated solid stepped spring dowel pins parallel to said shaft and having their large ends fitted for their entire lengths in a like number of longitudinal cylindrical bores of uniform diameter located in said hub, equidistantly spaced around the axis of said flywheel and held by friction from rotation and sliding with respect thereto, the other end portions of said dowel pins being reduced in diameter to provide clearance from said bores and having rounded end knobs, and a ring-shaped clutch-drivin plate located adjacent said hub and coaxial therewith, said plate having a plurality of openings embracing the greatest circumference of said rounded knobs, whereby said dowel pins will be laterally flexible in said plate, permitting it to have a self-centering floating action with respect to said hub.

ZENAS P. CANDEE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UINI'I'ED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,687,035 Newhouse Get. 9, 1928 2,187,955 Sonnenberg Jan. 23, 1940 2,559,709 Candee July 10, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 175,387 Germany 1906 301,065 Germany 1917 391.004 Great Britain 1933 

